


Old Flames

by Pika1043



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Multi, Other, There's a lot of kids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2019-06-01 14:35:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15145265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pika1043/pseuds/Pika1043
Summary: Max is an adult and is now a counselor at Camp Campbell! Along with Nerris and Ruddy as his co-counselors, he'll need all the help he can get with all these kids. He's definitely had his hands full all summer.A new kid named Zayne is a sweet child, but what'll happen when Max seems to recognize the kid's father?Seems like now he's gotta add more drama to his summer pile of stress.





	1. We Meet Again?

Max had been working at Camp Campbell since he was a teen. It wasn't the best job, obviously, but he had made a promise that he would help David after all the man has done for him. David had adopted him when he was 11, he would have done so earlier to get him away from his parents, but they were difficult people.

 

The promise became offical for Max when David and Gwen's own son, Rowan, didn't want the camp and their daughter, Lily, wasn't old enough to know if that's what she really wanted or not. David didn't want to force any of his kids to inherit the camp, so he kept silent about his sadness.

 

His face lit up so brightly when Max said he'd work at the camp for David. The father felt so proud of him. Max smiled fondly at the memory…

 

That smile faded the moment he heard one of his least favorite campers, "Hey, Max! Are you gonna introduce us to the new kid yet or are you just gonna stand there all day?"

 

It was Jacob, a brown-haired boy with blue eyes, his hair was usually strung in a low ponytail. He usually wears a black vest with a white shirt, along with grey pants and black shoes. The boy had a foul attitude towards everyone he knew, it seems.

 

A girl with purple hair spoke up, "Yeah! You've been spacing out for 15 minutes now, Uncle Max." That was Rebecca, she was Nikki and Nerris' adopted daughter. She had red eyes, blue overalls, red shoes and the Camp Campbell shirt on. Rebecca had a brother, Nerris' own biological son. His name was Xavien and he looked like the spitting image of his mother, only without the glasses and magic gear. He also had brown hair in the place of his mother's red. He was wearing a coat similar to his 'Uncle Max' when he was a kid. Quite cocky for a young boy in Other Magic Camp.

 

"Uncle Max?" A third voice called out, another girl. She had curly brown hair and dark skin, she was Neil and Erin's daughter. Her eyes were like her mother's, blue and orange, only in the opposite areas. Her right was orange and her left was blue. Sporting a yellow shirt, brown shoes and khaki shorts, she was quite the shy little child. Smart her parents too, though she was more into social science than regular ol' science. Her name was Claire.

 

Max put a hand up to silence all the chatter, "Alright, alright. Pipe down, kids. Now, this is Zayne. This is his first year here so DON'T kill him." The younger boy's eyes went wide, but two adults walked to the group, "Max, you couldn't wait until we got here?" "Yeah, now you have to introduce us."

 

The older man rolled his eyes, "This is Rudolph Houston, he'll be one of your counselors for the summer. You can just call him Ruddy. And this is-"

 

Zayne smiled, "That's Mrs. Nerris! My daddy knows her, she's the one who gave him the idea for my middle name. It's from her book, I read it all the time."

Nerris smiled at him, "Hiya, Zayne. Your dad said you can finally come to Camp Campbell?"

The boy nodded eagerly at her, happy to see someone he could recognize, "Yeah! Now I can have adventures like he did as a kid!"

 

A laugh was heard from the crowd of children, "Haha, wait your middle name? From one of her books? What's the name then?" It was Jacob who walked to the newer kid.

 

"Oh, it's Acelator."

 

With that, Jacob couldn't stop his laughter, "A-Acelator? Hahahahahahaha!" He fell to the ground, Zayne didn't seem fazed by this at all. Nerris was trying to get the misbehaving boy to stop making fun of the middle name. Max looked at Zayne's enrollment paper, spotting the fact that his full name was written out on it. His last name 'Russo' seemed very familiar to him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why.

 

Max's voice boomed for a second, "That's enough, Jacob!"

 

The brunette was shocked but recovered, "Okay, okay. Fine, I'll stop. C'mon, Acelator, I'll show you around and introduce everybody." He put his arm around the smaller boy's shoulders.''

 

Zayne smiled brightly, "Really? That's real nice of you!"

 

Max frowned as the two boys walked to the group of children, "Ruddy, make sure you keep an eye on those two. You know how much trouble Jacob can be."

 

Rudolph nodded, Nerris was given Zayne's paperwork.

 

"You wanna go file this while I make a calls?"

 

She gave him a thumbs up and headed towards the counselor's cabin. Max walked to the lake, calling David on his cell phone.

 

The happier man answered the phone, "Hello, Max! How's the camp doing?"

 

Max smiled, "It's doing just fine, Dad. I just wanted to tell you we got a new camper today, if you wanted to meet him."

 

David smiled brightly, "Oh that's great news! Gwen and I will definitely be sure to squeeze some time in to see him, we're always happy to see a new camper! Would Friday be a good day? We'll be busy seeing Lily's new animal show on Wednesday and Rowan's art exhibit on Thursday."

 

Max nodded, being sure to add a mental note about the visit, "Sounds good, Dad. I'll see you then, bye-"

 

"Wait, what’s the new camper's name? And did you give him the pin?"

 

"Yes, I did. The kid's name is Zayne Acelator Russo."

 

David's eyebrows scrunched in thought, "Russo? Don't we know that las-"

 

Max shrugged, "Maybe? Listen, I really need to get back to the kids. I left them with Ruddy but you know them."

 

David nodded, "Okay, Max… I'll see you on Friday, okay?"

 

"Yeah, you got it." Max hung up and walked to the field, where the kids were running away and Ruddy was tied to the flagpole.

 

"God-DAMN IT, RUDDY. I was gone for 5 fucking minutes, how did this even happen?" Max took out his pocket knife and cut his co-counselor free.

The blue-eyed man shrugged at him, "It happened so fast, to be honest. I remember being tackled by 3 kids and being tied up by Jacob. Zayne was dragged off with them."

"Crap, do you have any idea where they could have gone then?" The two guys pondered as Nerris joined them, now not knowing where her own children were.

 

Jacob laughed, "HA! What a great idea, Rebecca. Tying up Ruddy after knocking the wild outta him, that'll distract Nerris and Max for a while!"

 

Rebecca smiled, complimenting her friend, "Well yeah, but it wouldn't work if you didn't already have the tackling part planned!"

 

The two laughed to themselves as Claire stood by, worried, "Are you sure that was a good idea? Uncle Max isn't going to be happy about this."

 

Jacob shrugged, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder, "Claire, oh fair Claire. We'll be fine, you don't need to get all worked up over this. We're all going to have a free day, with the new kid."

 

Zayne was pulled by Jacob, but Claire spoke up, "Don't you think we should introduce him to everyone else first?"

 

Jacob shrugged, "I mean sure, you wanna do it for me." Rebecca jumped to the new blonde, "Oh! I want to help too!"

 

The two girls pulled him towards a dark brown-haired boy with freckles, Rebecca was the one who spoke, "This is my brother. His name is Xavien, he may make fun of you but don't worry, he's kinda lame."

 

"HEY! No, I'm not, Bec!"

 

She stuck her tongue out at him and he did the same, Zayne just waved to him before being pulled to two different kids.

 

Claire smiled, "Speaking of siblings, here's Dorothy and Claus. Dorothy is in Creative Writing Camp and Claus is in Magic Camp."

 

Dorothy had dark-brown hair and green eyes, with a dark vest over her long sleeved yellow shirt with green stripes. She was tall too. Claus was wearing a full on suit with a yellow shirt underneath, he had red hair and blue eyes, he had a scar on his left eyebrow.

Dorothy pinched Zayne's cheek, "Aw, hello, little one! You're so adorable and tiny!" Zayne giggled at this, "Hey! That tickles!"

Jacob pulled Zayne closer to him, "He's not a baby, Dorothy. Jeez. C'mon, here's Charles and Amy, you can call Charles "Aviator Lad" though, that's what everyone does."

A dark-skinned boy with dark brown hair and gold eyes waved to the newcomer, he was wearing goggles on his head, "Hiya there, Zayne! How are you liking Camp Campbell so far?"

Zayne shrugged, taking his hand, "Pretty fine, actually! So, Aviator Lad?"

"Oh, I'm in Flight Camp! The name just kinda… Uh… Stuck?"

The smaller boy giggled and looked to the girl beside Aviator Lad, "And you're Amy, right?"

 

She nodded and gently took his hand, "I-I'm Amy, I'm in Space Camp. Charles-I mean-Aviator Lad is my brother."

"Oooooh, so that's why you have a cool helmet!" He pointed to the large bowl around her head.

She smiled at this and took it off, revealing dark skin, red-ish hair and brown eyes, "Really?! You wanna try it on?"

 

Zayne smiled, taking the helmet in his hands. He gently put it over her head and looked around in amazement. He saw another kid, a large looking girl. Then he saw a slightly smaller boy next to her. Zayne took off the helmet, thanking Amy for letting him see it. He greeted the two, "Hi! I'm Zayne! What with you guys?"

 

They both shook his hand, the boy going first, "Yo! I'm Tristopher. You can just call me 'Tris' though. I'm here for Hiking Camp. My dad's actually the police officer around this place, he's big and scary but he's relatively harmless. Relatively." The girl shrugged, "I'm Daisy! I'm here for Music Camp, mainly because my own dad didn't want me joining the Flowerscouts, for whatever reason."

 

Zayne shrugged at this but was pulled away by both Jacob and Rebecca. The brown haired boy spoke up, "Well, that's everyone! Come on, guys! We have a limited time to do whatever we want! Now let's just go-"

 

Suddenly, a hand grabbed him. It was man's hand.

 

They heard a voice too, "Found you! Come on, you're all grounded!"

 

Jacob freaked out at being touched, he pushed the hand, "Ah! Get off me! Let go! Get off!" He scratched at it while Rebecca and Zayne pulled the two apart. Zayne pulled Jacob while Rebecca pulled the hand.

 

The figure let go and stood up, revealing Max, Nerris and Ruddy. Max crossed his arms, "Alright, come on. All of you to your tents."

 

Xavien folded his arms, "You can't tell me what to do. Our mom is here, she's the boss of me."

Nerris put her hand on her hips, "Xavien, you have to go to your tent too. Now."

The young boy sighed, "Aw man… I thought that would work."

 

Max looked to the two boys as the campers followed the two other counselors, "You too, Zayne. We have a shortage of tents so you'll be sharing with Jacob and Rebecca."

 

Zayne nodded, "Okay, Mr. Max." He was still hanging onto the brunette's arm.

Jacob was shocked at the blonde's grip but then pushed him, "Don't you dare try and touch me again!" The blue eyed boy stomped away, grumbling something as he fixed his sleeve.

Rebecca began walking next to Zayne as they headed back, "Don't mind him, Jacob has a fear of being touched." Zayne was curious, "Really? Why's that?"

The purpled haired girl shrugged, "I don't know, all I remember is that he made Ruddy bleed last year because he tried putting a bandage on him. But hey, don’t worry. I know Jacob, he won't beat you up or anything because you touched him. He sure talks big, but he can't hurt a fly if he tried."

"That would be good, my dad wouldn't like it if I got beat up on the first day." The blonde frowned at this.

The red-eyed girl pulled his arm, wanting him to smile, "Well, come on, I'll show you our tent and maybe we can sneak some chocolate bars from the fridge!"

 

Max face-palmed as the children ran off. Between watching these kids and making sure his co-counselors don't get hurt, it was a lot to deal with. He also had to do something for David and Gwen's visit too.

He sighed, alerting Nerris and Ruddy.

 

"You good, Max?" "Yeah, you need to go into town for a break?"

 

The older man shrugged, "Maybe, depends. Are you guys going to be fine with the kids tonight?"

 

Ruddy put his hand on his shoulder to reassure him, "Don't worry! We'll be fine! I promise."

Nerris put her hand on his other shoulder, "Yeah! The kids will be in their tents anyway, you have nothing to worry about!"

Max smiled for a brief second, "Okay, fine. I'll go for a break. But I'm holding each of you to that promise!"

 

He took the keys to the campmobile and drove off to the far away town. He stopped at a restaurant and called Nikki and Neil, arranging a small get together that night to catch up with each other.

 

The other two arrived shortly and sat at a table with Max. He already got a cheeseburger, fries and a glass of wine. While the wine didn't exactly match his food, he liked it more than beer. Neil had gotten a salad and a soda while Nikki got a steak, she was pouring ketchup on it. Soon enough, the trio started talking about their recent days. It was when Max mentioned a new kid that made Neil and Nikki talk about their own.

 

"Erin thinks I worry about Claire too much, she says that I get too caught up in thinking about other kids picking on her. I can't help it! It happened to me when I was a kid after all… But Erin's worried about her too, so I'm not sure why she thinks I worry too much. I just want to make sure Claire is okay, I just have a feeling…" Neil spoke at their table, sad about his situation.

 

"Ooof, that sucks, Neil. I kinda have a similar problem, but not really. Rebecca doesn't really get any of Nerris' fantasy games. And Xavien doesn't even like animals! How am I supposed to connect with him!?" Nikki vented about her children. She didn't mention her youngest, Dash, due to him not being old enough and that he's usually with her at the zoo anyway.

 

Max did not have a child to talk about. But he thought about their problems anyway and came up with an idea, "Wait a minute, I think I know what to do."

 

The pair turned to Max, "What idea?" "Huh?"

 

"I guess I'll be hosting a Parents Day kinda thing early, you guys can connect with your kids there and I can just chill out with David."

 

The step-siblings looked at each other and nodded, "THAT SOUNDS PERFECT!" "Sure, what can go wrong?"

 

They each said their goodbyes and headed home, Max drove to Camp Campbell. He surprisingly returned to nothing wrong or on fire. He was shocked but shrugged, heading right to printing Parents Day posters. Max sent emails to each of the parents to alert them and went to bed, ready to help his friends with their children.

 

The next day, Zayne found a poster, "What? A Parents Day? This Friday! I don't know if my dad knows about this!" He raised his hand, "Mr. Max, can I call him to see if he can come?"

 

"Don't worry, Zayne. I already emailed all your parents, they know when to come."

 

The days practically flew by and with the kids' help, he was able to set up everything for Parents Day.

 

He smiled as he greeted David walked through the gate, happy to see the old camp. Max was being followed by Zayne, the boy's parents haven't appeared yet so he let him follow him around.

 

Max hugged his adopted father, "Hey, how are you doing, Dad?" David smiled brightly as he let go, "Never better, Max! The camp sure looks great!" The counselor smiled at the compliment and his adopted mom walking to greet him.

Gwen was lifted by Max in a hug, "Ha, I get it, I get it! You're happy to see us, now put me down!" She laughed as she said it, also happy to see her son.

He put her down and Gwen ruffled his hair, "It's always great to see you though." Max smiled, "Nice to see you guys again. And I hope you don't mind but I decided to host Parents Day on the same day, it just made it easier for everyone to do their thing."

 

David gave him a thumbs up, "Not a problem, Max! That just means we get to meet all new friends!" Gwen grabbed his shoulder, pointing to the small boy next to Max, "Um, Max, who's your little friend? Do his parents not, erm, y'know?"

 

Max shook his head, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder, "No, don't worry about him. His name is Zayne, his dad is in charge of the Sleepy Peak Museum, right?"

 

Zayne nodded, looking up at the two strangers, "Yeah! Sometimes he has to close it, so he might be running a bit late…"

 

David rubbed his hand through the kid's hair, "Well if that's the case, I'm sure he'll be here soon!" Gwen smiled at the boy but smacked her husband's hand, "Don't be weird about it. C'mon, show us around, Max."

The older man laughed at their actions and started walking away, letting the boy follow him and his adopted parents. He took the time to explain how his friends wanted to connect more with their kids and thought igt would be a good idea, which David happily agreed to.

 

Neil was sitting at a table with his daughter, on the phone with her mother, "Now, you really don't mind just me being here with her, right? I know you're busy making some decorations with Tabii or whatever for the Flower Scouts, but I just want to be sure. Okay, send pictures of me and Claire, you got it. I love you, E. No, you hang up first! No, you, sweetie!" He blushed but hung up the phone the moment Claire rested her head in her hands in boredom.

 

He coughed nervously, "So, uh, Claire, how's your summer going?"

 

She shrugged, not really knowing what to do, "Um… Fine, I guess. We got a new kid a few days ago, he seems nice. Uh… Did you want to do anything?"

 

Neil swallowed some water from the bottle Max gave him, "To be honest, sweetie, I wanted to talk to you about something. Are you… Being bullied or anything? Because of your eyes or-"

 

Claire held her face in shock, "What? What's wrong with my eyes?! Did someone say something?"

 

Neil shook his head, "What No, no! I didn't mean anything like that! I mean, no one better be picking on you! I mean… Uh…" He sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder, "Listen , your mother and I… We're just… We're worried because you inherited things from us that… We found difficulty liking in ourselves. You inherited my autism and your mother's beautiful two-toned eyes. I was picked on for it and your mom hid her orange eye from her friends from them in fear. We just both had a feeling that you'd be going through something similar, because of us…"

Claire put her hands on her father's, "Dad! That was a great speech and everything but… It's fine, really no one here is trying to hurt me. A lot of the kids here are nice! Well, besides Jacob but I'm sure he tries!" She smiled at him, "I appreciate your concern, but I'm okay here, really. You and mom have nothing to worry about! Besides, you, mom and Aunt Tabii taught me to love myself and that I'm beautiful no matter what."

Neil smiled and ruffled his daughter's brown locks, "Aw, thanks for the reassurance, sweetie… Maybe I was being a little too worried, but you have Uncle Max call us if anyone decides they don't want to be nice to you. Okay?"

She nodded, "I will, dad, I promise." Neil got a text from his wife, "Huh? Find a telescope and look across the lake?" The father and daughter shrugged and looked through the telescope from Space Camp. Max had bought it to make Amy happy.

He peered through, seeing Erin wave at him. She held up a sign that said, "Good job, my sweets!" Erin was showing her appreciation for Neil talking to their daughter for the both of them while she was stuck at the Flower Scouts. Neil smiled and let Claire see her mom, she then shot her a thumbs up.

She turned and hugged her father. Claire let go to look at him, "So… Uh, Dad? Can you, um… Tell me how you and mom fell in love? You know, so we can pass the time more?"

He patted her head again, "Sure, Claire… It started at a dance at this very camp. But it really developed later when we were in high school…"

 

Max smiled at his friend when he passed by, happy to see that him and Claire talk. He looked at Zayne, "Is your dad worried about you being picked on?"

The blonde boy shrugged, "No, sir. At least, I don't think so."

David and Gwen smiled at them, but their attention turned to Nikki and Xavien, the boy was attempting to follow his mother. She has climbed a tree and was sitting on a rather high branch, "Come on, Xavien! You can do it, hurry up!"

Xavien was struggling to get up the tree, "I'm trying, Mommy! Jesus Christ, I hate trees." He finally grabbed onto a branch, "Why am I even doing this? Why can't Rebecca climb with you? She's the one that likes climbing, not me."

Nikki shrugged, "I know, but don't you want to see the beautiful sky from the branch?"

He grumbled, "Well, I'd rather watch it from the grou-" The branch under his foot snapped, he fell from the tree. Nikki looked at her son in horror, "Xavien!" She jumped down, grabbing him before the hit the ground. She fell onto the ground with a thud, keeping the boy safe from danger.

He looked up at her when they sat up, "Mommy! Are you okay?"

She rubbed her back, "Well, besides the pain in my back and my arm, I'm completely fine. You good? Any scrapes?"

He shook his head, "No, but that was so cool! The way you jumped from the tree branch was AWESOME! And you saved me! So cool! Thank you, Mommy!"

Nikki smiled, holding his hand as they both stood up, "It's no problem, bud. I wouldn't want any of my pups getting hurt. Come on, let's go from Mom and Bec."

He smiled, nodding as they walked to find their family. Nerris was standing with Rebecca in a long cape and a wizard cap similar to her father's, along with the fake ear tips. Rebecca was wearing similar ear tips, with small red horns and tiny fake wings. Nerris stood dramatically, "Now, what has the daughter of the powerful wizard and the dragon princess found? Perhaps a powerful amulet? A new pet?"

Rebecca tilted an eyebrow, "Uh… A rock?" She picked up the grey object. Nerris face-palmed, "No, Rebecca, think about it… It's not a normal rock, it's a stone of Kantore!"

The purple-haired girl shrugged, "Um… Okay? Uh, why are we doing this again?"

She smiled at the young girl, "To, y'know, bond a little?"

Rebecca still didn't get it, "But I don't really play these games, I don't even know what some of the dice do." She sat down on the ground, "I mean, making the characters are fun, but I don't get how to actually play…" Nerris sat next to her, "Well, then, ask me. You know I'm here for you, right? I can answer your questions if you want." Rebecca smiled at her, "I can? I thought you'd be annoyed!" The mother laughed, grabbing the girl and putting her in her lap, "Annoyed? Quite the opposite, actually! You can ask me anything, silly! So, what was your question?"

Rebecca laughed, "Well…" She jumped up, lifting her plastic sword, "You wanna go on an epic quest to find our lost family?"

Nerris laughed as well, "I see, I see! Haha, c'mon, let's go."

 

Max smiled as the mothers reunited and began talking with their children. Zayne tapped him on the leg, "Hey, uh… Mr. Max, do you have a family?"

Max looked at David and Gwen, who were talking to Nikki and her family. He looked back at the boy, "I mean, I don't have any kids, but I have my parents over there… Why'd you wanna know?"

Zayne shrugged, "Oh, I… Uh, no reason."

 

Suddenly, they heard a woman's voice, "Aw! Jakey! My little baby!" Angry grumbling was heard as Jacob was being hugged by the lady. More was heard when another lady hugged him, also in a sickeningly sweet voice.

He pushed at them, "Mom! Stop it, this is not cool!"

One of them smiled at him, "Aw, come on, Jakey. You know you love our hugs-" He waved his arms, "No I don't! God, just please stop." He was whining at this point.

 

Zayne tilted an eyebrow, "Hey, what's wrong, Jacob?"

 

He practically growled, "Nothing!"

 

His mother gasped when she saw the child, "Aw! Is this one of your little friends, Jakey?"

 

He began grumbling, "No! I mean, yeah, I guess he's my friend but… Agh! Just stop calling me Jakey in front of my friends!"

Zayne smiled at the women, "Yeah, I', Zayne! Jacob was the one that introduced me to everyone, so yeah, he's my friend."

She pinched his cheek, "Aw, our Jakey did that? What a responsible boy you're turning into!" He grumbled as she continued.

Jacob folded his arms when she finally let go to talk to Max, "God, they just love embarrassing me, don't they!"

 

"I don't get it, why would you think your moms would embarrass y-"

 

Just then, a taller figure towered over the child. It was a blonde, green-eyed man with some stubble, he had glasses too. He was bit on the chubby side, but taller than most of the people there.

 

"Daddy! There you are!"

 

Zayne jumped up to him, hugging his father. The dad smiled, "Hello there, Zayne. I'm sorry I'm a bit late, I had to close up the museum tonight. But I'm here now! Now, what do you want to do?" His son jumped down, "It's okay! Come on! I want you to meet Mr. Ma-"

 

His father looked at the counselor in shock, suddenly gripping his son's hand tightly, "M-Max?!"

 

Max froze as he stared at the man in front of him, "Dominic?"


	2. Rememberance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dominic and Zayne talk about the father's relationship with Max. The original trio try and figure out more about Dominic's life on his social media!

The boy looked up at his counselor and then his father, "Wait, what? You guys know each other?"

 

"You see, Zayne… When we were younger, Mr. Max and I… We, uh…" Dominic was trying to find a way to tell his son gently.

 

Max interrupted him, "We dated, kid."

 

Zayne titled an eyebrow, "Wait, what? Dated? When was this?"

Dominic kneeled down, "It was a long time ago, Zayne. Way before you were born, we were in high school." The young boy was confused.

Before Max could help explain, Neil and Nikki dragged him away.

 

"Come on, Max, let's go talk to Harrison." "Yeah, just focus your attention somewhere else, buddy."

 

Dominic patted Zayne's head, "You don't need to worry yourself, Zayne. Let's go find Nerris and Emalie." The boy nodded, following his father around the camp. He realized he was being stared at by the other kids, he tried waving them off.

Eventually, they found a man in an astronaut suit and a woman in a pilot's jacket. The man's voice sounded rather geeky but still deep, "Oh heya there, Dom! How've you been doing?" Dominic shook his hand and turned to Zayne, "Pretty good, you guys remember Zayne, right?"

Zayne tilted his head as the woman hugged his tiny body, "Aw, of course we do! Remember us, little Zayney? It's me, Aunt Emalie and your Space Uncle!"

He was thinking but couldn't recognize them, giving his dad a shrug. Dominic shrugged right back, "Well, it has been awhile. We haven't seen each other in years, guys." All three of the adults laughed, two other children walked to them.

 

"Hey, Space Dad! Whatcha doing?" "Mommy! Can you fix the toy plane you made me?"

 

Aviator Lad and Amy had walked to the parents and their friend, now curious about the situation.

 

The son stood behind his mother, "Mommy, why are you talking to Zayne's dad?" Amy smiled at the other boy and up at her father. Emalie put a hand on her son's head, "Well, me and Zayne's dad are old friends. In fact, we came to this camp together and it's how I met your father." Their father laughed, "Though I wasn't known as Space Dad or Space Uncle, I was known as Space Kid." Amy was amazed, "Wooooah, cool nickname!"

Dominic waved to the children, who smiled brightly at him. Amy smiled the brightest at Zayne, "So that's why he's so nice! He must have felt our connection or something!"

Her brother laughed at her, "Sure, goofball, let's roll with that." He turned to Zayne, "Well, I guess if our parents are friends, we should be friends too, right?" The blonde nodded, fist-bumping the other boy, "Yeah, we should be good friends."

The parents smiled as their kids talked together. Nerris soon joined their group, "Hey! How's my orc paladin doing?"

Dominic laughed, high-fiving the woman, "Pretty well, how about you, Nerris?" She smiled, "Fine! You wanna play some DnD later?" She saw what happened earlier, she figured she could try and get his mind off it. He shrugged, "Eh, I don't know. Maybe… I think I could use a drink though, you thirsty, Zayne?" His son nodded, he's been parched since he was done talking to Aviator Lad.

She nodded, "You got it, I'll get you guys some water bottles and I'll leave you alone."

 

Max face-palmed as he walked with his friends, "I can't believe I didn't notice it before, they literally have the same blonde hair! Why didn't you guys fucking tell me Dominic was his father earlier?"

Nikki frowned, "To be honest, we thought you knew." Neil took out his phone, showing him a picture of Zayne, "Yeah, he even made a post about Zayne going to camp on social media. There's a lot of pictures if him on here."

Max folded his arms, "Come on, you know I don’t follow Dominic anymore." A thought crossed Max's mind, "Wait… Does that mean Dominic is married? He seemed pretty happy before he saw me."

Nikki took Neil's phone from his hands, scrolling through Dominic's social media. Neil shrugged as she did so, "I didn't see any rings on his fingers."

 

"Jackpot!"

 

Max jumped to her, "What? What'd you find?"

 

Nikki smiled, showing him the social media, "He's not married! See? He would have posted about it! Seems like Zayne's mommy was surrogate or something. There's a gap between his first post with Zayne and him opening the museum. Look! It's a little baby Zayne!" She pointed to the baby in the man's lap in the picture, Dominic was missing his stubble but that was about it.

 

Max nodded, "Okay, I get it. Zayne's a cute baby, not very surprising. Get the phone out of my face."

 

Neil tapped his chin, "You know, maybe you guys should talk about it. You don't have to get back together but you can be friends. Right?" Nikki and Neil looked at their friend, he had a sad look on his face.

 

Max sighed, "I don't even know if Dominic wants to talk to me. You guys know what happened… You guys go hang out with your families, I-I'll deal with this on my own."

 

The two friends nodded, "Okay, Max." "If that's what you want, we won't pry."

 

Max let them walk away, leaving him to be free to do what he wanted. He awkwardly walked away from the spot to meet with his parents.

 

Meanwhile, Dominic was trying to distract his son from the situation. But Zayne can be a bit of a stubborn boy when it comes to his father.

Zayne frowned, "I know it probably hurts to talk about it but… Why not? You guys are here now, can't you talk to each other and at least, become friends?"

Dominic pat his son's head, "Zayne, listen to me. I'm not sure if Mr. Max wants to become friends or not. We left on… Bad terms."

Zayne got up from his chair, "What do mean bad terms? What happened?" Dominic looked away, "I… Really don't want to talk about it right now, Zayne."

His son looked down, "Well… Can you at least tell me how you guys met?"

 

Dominic sighed, "…Fine… Well, it started when we were younger. We were both 11, I think."

 

*Cue Flashback, Ted read that back to me*

 

A small Max crossed his arms, "This is stupid, I have to wait with you for the new campers AGAIN?" David smiled brightly, as usual, "Well yeah! Wouldn't it be great to help me greet the new campers, son?"

His emphasis on the word made Max stick out his tongue, "Oh, don't make me barf, David! It would make you a fucking old man!" He laughed at the last part. David put his hands on his hips, "Now, Max, watch your language. I don't want the new campers to pick up some… Colorful words their parents will have some stronger words about."

 

The bus knocked straight into the counselor while he screamed, just like last year. The Quartermaster opened the bus door, "Two new kids are hear. The one kid wouldn't stop talking my ears off, the other was as quiet as a mouse. Have fun." Two children walked off the bus, one with dark skin, dark red hair, golden eyes and a beauty mark under her left eye. She was wearing a yellow pilot's outfit, along with some orange goggles. She smiled, "That guy was such a good listener! Woah! Is this the camp? It looks… Fun! I can't wait to soar over the lake, like my brochure said! Can't you wait, whatever your name is? Can you?" She gripped the other boy's arm, he seemed uncomfortable.

Max had to take a step back, she seemed eccentric, "Hey, calm down there, Motor Mouth. I think you're making other new kid here nervous."

The girl backed off, allowing the boy to fix his shirt. He meekly spoke up, "Uh, thanks! I'm, uh, Dominic, by the way. Not whatever your name is." Max and the girl nodded, she smiled, "Ooooh yeah! And I'm Emalie! What's your name?"

The boy in the hoodie shrugged, "It's Max, that's David by the way." He pointed to the redheaded man laying on the ground. Dominic and Emalie stood on the opposite sides on David.

 

"Woah! Is this dude okay?" The girl started poking his body.

 

"Erm, i-is he… De-"

 

To both their surprise, David jumped up from the ground. Dominic fell in the dirt in shock. David smiled, "It's nice to see that you kids are getting along while I rested a bit. Sorry, guess I was a bit more tired than I thought! Hope I didn't scare any of you! Come, Emalie, Dominic! I'll give you the tour!"

Emalie jumped as she followed David inside the gates of the camp. Max walked to the boy, as he was still on the ground.

"You good down there?"

Dominic rubbed his arm, "S-sorry, I just need to recover from that. Just a bit." His fingers were tapping at his thigh as his other hand dug through his pocket. He took out a small cube and started pressing the buttons on it. Max tilted an eyebrow, "What? You need that for something?"

The blonde nodded, "Y-yeah… It's for when I nervous… Or scared. My mom gave it to me since my dad said I wasn't allowed to play any video games this summer." He continued to click the buttons in thought.

The raven-haired boy sat in front of him, "Is your dad a hard ass or something?"

Dominic shrugged, "I-I guess you could say that." Max decided to sit with the boy as he played with the buttons. He knew David would be mad if he left him at the gate, so might as well talk to one of the new kids.

 

"What video games do you like to play?" Max put his hands in his pockets.

 

Dominic continued clicking, "Mainly Pokemon, Metroid, Smash Brothers… Those kinds of games… Mom says I'm not allowed to play The Walking Dead."

Max smiled, "So you're a Nintendo fan? Nice." He stood up, "You know… We do have a TV and an old Mario Kart game upstairs if you ever want to play."

The blond boy looked up at him, "COOL! …But if my dad finds out, I'll be in trouble…"

Max held out his hand, letting the boy grab it, "Well, then we just won’t tell him."

 

Dominic smiled at Max, following the boy inside camp, where adventures, friends and Mario Kart awaited them.

 

*End of Flashback, waiting for that read back, Ted*

 

Dominic sighed, "And that's how we met and became friends. Now, I don't want to talk about this anymore, okay, Zayne?"

The boy shrugged, "Aw… Okay, Dad…" He got up from his chair, "I'm going to talk to some of my friends, you can do whatever." Dominic sat back in his chair, looking down at his water bottle, "… Okay, Zayne. Have fun with them."

 

His son nodded and he ran to Max's adopted parents. He tugged on the woman's pants, "Uh… Mrs. Gwen, can you help me with something?"

Sne knelt down to the boy, "You need something?" Zayne rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, you know anything that could make my dad and Mr. Max be friends again?"

Gwen looked at Max and shook her head, "I'm sorry, kid, but I think it's best for the both of them to hash it out by themselves. They're adults now, they don't need our help with anything. I don't think they'd want it either, they can talk on their own time."

Zayne's shoulders fell in defeat, "O-oh… Okay…" He looked like he was going to cry.

 

David practically sensed this and shoved Gwen, "Hey! No need to be sad, buckaroo! I'm sure Dom and Max will become friends again in no time! It didn't take long the first time! In the meantime, here, have a pudding cup to help take your mind off it!" He smiled brightly, causing Zayne send a tiny smile to him.

He took the pudding cup, "M-maybe you're right…" David pat him on the head, "That's the spirit! Now go play with your friends!"

 

Zayne nodded and decided to walk to Jacob, who was struggling to get away from his parents' smothering. He saw the sad look on the other boy's face and decided to check on him, "You good, Zayne? I saw what happened back there, looks like your dad and Mr. Max seem sad at each other. Or something like that."

The blonde shrugged, "I-I guess so." Tears looked like they were going to fall and Jacob stuttered, "H-hey! Don't cry on me! God, here, my moms gave me a hankie in case I started crying. For whatever reason." He gave Zayne the small piece of cloth, who then wiped his face a little bit and gave it back.

Once Zayne regained his composure, Jacob pondered, "You know, if you need help with any plans… I can help you, if you want."

Zayne shrugged, "I just don't know what to do, Jacob. How do I get them to talk to each other?" The boys looked at the older men, who awkwardly tried not to look at each other.

Jacob tapped his chin, "Well… I have one idea that could help you out. But you have to be the one that does the majority of the talking!" Zayne nodded and Jacob turned, "Hey, Rebecca! I'm going to need your help for this one!" He smiled evilly, ready to help his new friend but also ready to mess with his counselor.


	3. Stuck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, the kids decided to help Max and Dominic. Let's see what they have planned!

The kids looked at each other, ready to put their plan into motion. Zayne walked to his father, "Hey, Dad? Can you help me with something? It's important."

Dominic smiled at his son, "Sure, Z. What can your old man help you with?" The boy fiddled with his shirt, trying to remember what Jacob told him to say, "I… uh… I need you help me reach something! Mrs. Nerris told me to get something but I didn't realize it would be on such a high shelf! Could you help me?"

Dominic got up from his chair, ruffling his son's hair, "Of course, Zayne. Come on, lead me to it!" Zayne winked at Jacob and Rebecca as he held his father's hand.

 

Rebecca jumped up to a table and swiped the vase sitting on top of it. All the vases were random and only for decoration. They were gifts from David to Max after he decided to work at Camp Campbell, so Max thought it would be a nice idea to use them whenever he visited. He usually kept them in a closet when they werem't needed. Rebecca ran to her tent and hid the vase as Jacob ran to their counselor, "Hey, Max! Looks like you forgot to set up one of those stupid looking vases. Might wanna fix that before David sees."

Max grumbled as he saw the missing vase, "I could have sworn I put all of 'em out, Jesus Christ." He began to head towards the closet. Jacob and Rebecca followed their counselor.

 

Zayne and Dominic had beat them there, Zayne pointed into the dark room, "Uh… It's right up there, Dad!" His father squinted as he walked into the room, "See if you can hit the light switch, Zayne. I can't see much over here."

Zayne nodded, "Uh, sure, Dad." He saw that Max was walking into the room and he hid underneath a table to avoid him. Max was about to turn on the light when he was shoved into the door by both Rebecca and Jacob. The two ran out as Zayne closed the door.

 

"FUCK!"

 

Max fell on top of Dominic, not realizing he was even there until just then. Dominic looked up at him, "… Max?" The counselor froze and looked down at who he was lurched over, "Oh Jesus fucking Christ, you gotta be kidding me. Dominic?"

 

He immediately got up, "I'm sorry, Dom. I mean, Dominic! I guess those two campers pushed me." The blonde man dusted himself off and headed towards the door, "They were probably too fast for Zayne to stop too. Come on, let's just get out of here."

 

He tried turning the doorknob desperately, only to see that it was locked, "Zayne! What are you doing? Open this door right now!"

Jacob nudged Zayne, prompting him to say, "I'm sorry, Dad. But me and my friends think it's for your own good! Mr. Max's too!"

The knob was still locked as the blonde still tried to open it, "Zayne!" There was no answer for him.

Dominic groaned as he couldn't open the door. Max shrugged awkwardly, "I guess we're stuck in here until someone finds out we're missing. Who knew your kid was as mischievous as the rest of them. I'm actually surprised, you were never the 'willing-to-get-in-trouble' type."

"Please don't talk about my son as if you know him, Max. You've known him for a few days." Dominic sat down on the ground.

Max sat in front of him, "And I know he's a good kid, with a great father who wants to do what's best for him." He smiled at the blonde.

"Still the flattering type, I see." Dominic laughed at this. The man's smile grew, "Hehe… Hey, didn't you used to like it when I flattered you?"

 

Zayne turned to Jacob, "Are you sure this is going to work?" He shrugged, "I don't know, it usually does in the movies." Rebecca pondered, "Sometimes you open the door to find them kissing. I think?" The trio shrugged, waiting by the door as the men talked inside.

 

Max looked down, "Listen, about the dinner all those years ago… I…" Dominic hid his face in his knees, "It's fine, I know you didn't mean to hurt anyone. You were always a bit of a quick thinker."

The counselor laid down, "Not quick enough to think of the repercussions though." The blonde looked at Max, "Hey… It's okay, stop beating yourself up about it. It happened so many years ago… I'm fine now, I'm not in any danger."

 

"I know… I just feel so guilty about it, I'm sorry. I should have waited and let you tell your dad that you're gay and was dating me."

 

Dominic patted his shoulder, "And… I shouldn't have ignored you for all these years, you've missed out on… So much… I'm sorry too, Max."

 

Max smiled as Dominic hugged him. He was honestly shocked but hugged back. The dark-haired counselor let go, "So… You good with staying friends for now?" Dominic nodded, "Wherever time takes us, I guess."

The counselor giggled, "What did you wanna talk about now considering your kid is keeping us hostage?" Dominic took out his phone, "Oh yeah, he's definitely grounded when he gets home. Uh here, you still have my number, right? You might need to update it."

Max smiled as he took out his own phone, it was a blue version of David's, "Sure, Dominic."

 

"Max?"

 

"Yeah?" He turned to the father as he said, "… Call me Dom, I missed that."

 

Max looked back to the phones, "You got it… Dom. Hey, is that a littler Zayne with a snake? That's my favorite animal."

Dominic smiled as he took the phone, going through pictures as Max looked at them, "Oh yeah it is! It was Zayne's first time going to the zoo! He was so nervous that none of the animals would like him! That boa constrictor seemed to love him the most, I stood near him just in case. But he was so fearless with her!"

 

He rambled on about his son while the kids waited outside, talking amongst themselves.

 

Zayne shrugged, "Soooooo… What do you think they're talking about? Or do you think they're kissing?"

 

All of a sudden, they heard the door slam open.

 

Gwen rushed to the trio, "Zayne, Jacob and Rebecca! Jesus Christ, let them out! I told you not to interject, Zayne! They both need time with this sort of thing!"

The blonde shook his head, "But technically I didn't interfere! They both walked in the closet and started talking!"

"Yeah, all we did was lead them to it!" Jacob added, walking next to Zayne. Rebecca backed them up, "They didn't have to start talking, you know! And besides, isn't more than 10 years enough time?"

David helped Gwen with the door as he chastised the kids, "Yes, we know. But this is something the two of them have to talk about on their own, when they feel like it. Not because you forced them into a closet together."

 

The two finally got the door open, allowing Dominic and Max to walk out. They were smiling, Dominic was showing Max pictures on his phone, "And this was Zayne riding his scooter for the first time! He was so scared. But I was so proud of him when he did it!"

 

Gwen was shocked, "So, I guess you guys made up?"

 

Max nodded, "Yeah, Mom, we had a lot to talk about. And, while the room wasn't ideal, being shoved kinda helped."

 

David smiled and hugged the men, "Oh, I'm just so proud of you two! I'm so happy you're friends again!" Max pushed him, "Alright! Get off! Don't make this a sappy moment!"

 

Dominic smiled at Max and looked at his son, "Thanks for… Pushing me, Zayne. But be aware that when you come back home after the summer, you're going to be grounded."

 

Zayne stuck out his tongue, "Aw come on!"

 

Max giggled, "Well, I guess this Parents Day is over! I'm tired and it’s time to shut down for the night!"

 

And with that, all the parents left their kids. Nerris and Ruddy, along with the other campers, were so tired that they fell asleep the moment they went to bed.

 

But not Max, just yet, as he took out his phone to text Dominic…


	4. A Date?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally a new part!  
> An idea from Zayne turns into a plan, just as it seems that Max is getting pretty happy.  
> It's a happy Max chapter, he gets to go on a date.

Jacob woke up with a yawn and saw that his tent mates had already gone to the mess hall without him. He stretched and pulled on his black vest, walking out of the tent and to the hall himself. He met with his group at their table, noticing that Zayne was simply picking at his food. He had a sad look on his face as he looked at his friends, "You think either of them get lonely, Rebecca?"

The girl nodded, "Oh yeah, I've seen Uncle Max get a bit lonesome all the time and then he invites my mom and Uncle Neil over and he feels a bit better."

 

Jacob shrugged and playfully hit the blonde's arm, not hearing their conversation, "Heh, think about it, Zayne. If Max married your father, you'd have two dads!"

 

Zayne nodded, "Oh yeah! I wonder what that would have been like?" He wasn't sure what to think, nothing popped up in his head. He's never thought about having another parent besides his father before. Zayne peered the mess hall, looking for a certain girl who was in Creative Writing camp, he remembered seeing her with her family at Parents Day.

 

He found her at the other table, eating her breakfast.

 

"Well, you have two dads, right, Dorothy? What's it like?" He looked at the taller girl, he noticed that he was practically half her height, even when sitting down.

 

Claus, her brother, stood next to her as she spoke, "Well, Daddy and Papa are so fun! And dramatic. Daddy takes me to his play rehearsals! He directs and writes, you know! And Papa likes to cook us breakfast-"

 

She was shoved by her brother, "Yeah! Papa is super cool, he can do magic! He brings me to his performances, they are so fun! Papa brings us to Aunt Ronnie too! She can also do magic, she's awesome!"

 

Zayne nodded, throwing in a shrug as well, "That sounds like fun… I wonder… Hm… Uh, thanks guys, you helped me think of an idea!"

 

The blonde left the two siblings to bicker as he walked back to his group. Jacob and Rebecca tilted their heads at him as he stayed oddly silent.

 

"You good, Zayne?" "Yeah, you got something on your mind?"

 

He looked at them, "Guys, I have an idea." Jacob tilted his eyebrow as he continued, "Let's get my dad and Mr. Max on a date and get them to marry each other!"

 

The three smiled at each other, eager to form their plan.

 

Max headed to the mess hall with his second cup of coffee in hand, he sipped with a smile. This weirded out his co-workers.

Nerris tilted an eyebrow, "Uh, you okay there?"

 

Ruddy took a bite of his candy bar, "Yeah, you seem… Happier than usual. Did something happen?"

 

The jade-eyed counselor still smiled as he shrugged, "Just had a goodnight's sleep, that's all." He peered down at his phone, seeing the conversation him and Dominic had last night.

Nerris laughed, shoving at him, "Yeah, right! You still get cranky even if you sleep a whole 8 hours!" Ruddy moved closer to the phone, "What's on the phone that got you smiling like Winn-Dixie?" Max pushed at him, "Hey, come on! Quit that! Just a few texts, Jesus."

 

Both of his co-counselors playfully cooed, "What kind of texts?" "Oooh, is it Dominic?"

 

All of a sudden, they saw flower petals on the ground and heard a car engine start. All three of them ran to the campmobile, seeing a young brunette near the peddles. Zayne and Rebecca were sitting in the backseat, seatbelts already on. The blonde was holding a boquet of flowers while the red-eyed girl was holding a picture frame.

 

"Alright, we got the flowers, the geeky photo gift and car's all started. Now all we need to do is put this baby into overdrive and we can go pick up your dad and bring him here for a date."

 

Max shouted, "THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING IN THERE?!"

 

This scared all of the trio in the car, they turned to their counselors. The children got out of the car after Max opened the front door to let Jacob out and turn the car off.

All the children looked guilty but said nothing as the adults stared at them with disappointed looks.

 

Max spoke up, "Well? Aren't you going to explain yourselves?"

 

Jacob was about to speak when Zayne stepped in front of them, "Please don't get mad at them, Mr. Max. They were just helping with my **stupid** idea…"

Max knelt down in front of him, "Stupid idea? What were you trying to do?"

 

He pouted as Jacob grumbled, Max stood up in reaction, "The one to get you and his dad together! And it's not stupid, Zayne!"

 

Max looked down at the trio, "Wait… You guys were trying to set me up with Dominic?"

"Of course we were, Uncle Max. You just always look so SAD when you were all by yourself! We just felt bad and we  … Wanted to help you get back together with Zayne's dad! A-and Zayne really wanted another parent, he's been feeling… Lonely too, I guess…" Rebecca yelled, she really did feel bad about her uncle.

 

Max sighed and put a hand on her head, "Alright, alright. Just calm down, no more shouting." He brushed his hand through her hair as he hugged her, comforting one of his best friends' daughters.

 

He stood up and walked to the car, turning it on as Nerris and Ruddy walked closer to the group. Zayne looked up at his counselor, "Uh… What are you doing, Mr. Max?"

 

Green eyes stared down at purple ones and then at the two blue pairs of his co-counselors, "I'll be right back, make sure the kids get to bed."

Nerris nodded, taking her daughter into her arms, "Come on, sweetie. You heard Uncle Max. We're going to go to bed now." Rebecca nodded, wiping her tears on her mother's shirt.

 

Ruddy almost put his hand on Jacob's shoulder, but the boy swatted at him. He grumbled, "What did I say about touching me. God damn it, we were so close. I'm going to bed!" The accented counselor was able to put a hand on Zayne's shoulder however, "This means you too, Zayne. Come." The blonde looked up at him, "… Where is Mr. Max going?"

Ruddy shrugged, "I, uh… I'm not sure, Zayne. Max didn't mention going out tonight at all. So I have no clue, sorry."

The boy frowned as he walked with Ruddy, who was struggling to get him to feel better, "But, uh… We'll ask him about it when he comes back and I'll tell you in the morning! Here, have a candy bar to make you feel better for now."

Zayne smiled as he took the candy, "Hey, thanks, Mr. Ruddy!" The counselor nodded as he ran off to his tent to join his friends, hiding the candy in his pocket.

 

Meanwhile, Max was driving on the road, he was thinking of what he just did, 'Am I… Doing the right thing? I mean, my heart wants me to do it, Zayne seems to want me to do it too. Was this a bad idea?'

 

He remembered one night, when him and Dominic were teenagers and together as a couple. Max had a mood drop that day and didn't go to school, the blonde visited him to make sure he was okay. He spent the day laying next to Dominic as he played a game on his phone and talking to him. Max didn't admit it, but he was happy his boyfriend stayed with him.

 

He looked up at the various signs near the road, "… No, I don't think it is."

 

Max saw one for a flower shop, "… Maybe a flower would be a good idea. Yeah… He'll like a gift." He pulled into the shop's parking lot and grabbed a blue hydrangea. He threw his money on the counter, "Bag, now. Keep the change, kid." He put the flower in the bag he was given.

Max took a deep breath as he walked to his car, "Alright, I can do this. It'll be just like the first time… Right?" He took another deep breath as he got back onto the road, driving to his old boyfriend's house.

 

Dominic arrived home late, he was tired of having to show his employee what he should have already known at that point and the fact that he had to close that night. He took his jacket off, leaving it on the coat rack, "Ugh, I want to go to bed already. But it's only 10… Maybe I can text Max, I hope he wasn't waiting for me to answer all day. I'd feel bad…"

 

He turned on his phone and tilted an eyebrow at the fact that he had no messages, "None? Hm, that's weird. He would have at least said hi by now."

The blonde was about to text him when he heard an almost timid knock on his door.

 

"I'll be there in a second!" He thought to himself, 'That's strange, I don't normally get visitors at this hour.'

 

The man opened the door to see Max standing there, rocking on his heels. He rubbed the back of his neck, "Um, hello, Dom."

Dominic felt the awkwardness in the air, "Oh! Hiya there, Max. Aren't you supposed to be at camp with the kids?"

The counselor shrugged and motioned the blonde to follow him to his car, "Yeah, but Nerris and Ruddy let me take some nights off to go to town. I was wondering if you wanted to come with me, somewhere."

 

Dominic smiled and got into the car. They were going to the newly renovated pizza parlor.

 

Max ordered the pizza and sat down at their table. Dominic smiled at him as the counselor was stuck in an awkward silence. He tried to find a way to break the ice, it was so easy to talk on a phone.

 

"So… I see that you're the boss of the Sleepy Peak Museum?" Max inquired, he had seen the post on Dominic's social media.

The blonde rubbed his neck, "Oh yeah! I built the place myself, with a team of course. It certainly attracted a lot of people here, right?"

Max smiled, "Definitely more than when we were kids, that's for sure. Y'know, I was thinking… Maybe I could bring the kids there, for like, a field trip or something."

 

Dominic nodded at this, "Aw, that sounds great! Zayne could have fun with his friends and I can actually meet them properly!"

The counselor tugged at his handkerchief, he felt nervous, "Haha… Yeah…" He looked at the cashier, who was holding their box, "Oh look, pizza's here! I'll be right back."

 

Max tightly held the box, 'Okay, don't mess this up, me. Stop acting like a fucking nervous twit! I've done this with him before, I have to act smooth!'

He smiled suavely at the man in front of him, but his voice sounded nervous, "Pizza's here! I remember bell pepper being your favorite topping." He beat himself up in his head for how he sounded.

Dominic giggled, taking a slice, "Wow! You remembered, that's… Pretty sweet of you, Max."

 

Max blushed slightly and smiled at him, he felt calm, "Thanks, Dominic." He took a slice as well and relaxed in his seat, "You know, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Yeah, what is it?" Dominic took another bite of his pizza, enjoying the topping.

The counselor brushed a hand through his hair nervously, "How was Zayne, uh, made? Were you married before or something? Sorry if it’s a little personal."

 

Dominic shook his head, "No it's fine, just don't tell him I told you this, please." Max nodded, allowing him to continue, "After I opened the museum, I noticed I felt a little… Lonely. But after what happened between us, I didn't think I could have another boyfriend or a husband… So Emalie and I talked and we agreed that she could be my baby's mother. We didn’t, erm, **do** anything. That would have made us a bit uncomfortable, so we settled for the artificial way. The doctors said it was fine considering she had already had a child, Charles, at that point. And her husband, Armstrong, he was fine with it. In fact, he helped paid for most of it. He's such a nice dude, helped out a lot. Then a few months later, Zayne was born and I raised him while Emalie and Armstrong agreed to be his aunt and uncle." The man sighed, "So now that you know, please don't tell Zayne. I want to be the one that tells him, when we're both ready."

 

Max nodded, "Say no more, Dom. I won't tell the kid. But I'll tell you this, he is the reason why I'm here, besides me wanting to spend time with you."

The man tilted a gold eyebrow, "What? Did he do something?"

 

The dark-haired counselor rubbed the back of his neck, "I… Um, I was wondering…" He realized, he had no clue how to put this gently, "If you… Uh, wanted… To…"

He grabbed another slice of pizza and put it on Dominic's plate, "Have another piece of pizza? Can't let it go to waste."

 

Dominic made a face, but took a bite of the food nonetheless, "Uh, sure, Max."

 

Max mentally face-palmed as Dominic ate his food, until the blonde started talking, "Though there was… Something I wanted to talk about too."

 

The counselor tilted an eyebrow, "… What is it?"

 

"I wanted to apologize again, I'm sorry for ignoring you for all these years… It was unfair to you, I didn't want to hurt you…" He looked down, frowning at his actions.

Max smiled somberly, "Hey, we talked about this. It's okay, we're not on bad terms now. We can relax now."

 

Dominic smiled as well, "… Thanks Max…"

 

"You're welcome, Dom." He took another slice of pizza.

 

"And I was wondering…" Dominic blushed slightly, "Are you, uh… Seeing anyone?"

 

Max started blushing as well, "Uh… No…"

 

"…Max…" Dominic put his hand over Max's own, "Are you… Willing to give it another try?"

Max gripped the other man's hand, "… Only if you want to, that's fine by me." Dominic smiled as he hugged Max, "That's… Great! I've been wanting to ask you for a while now!" He let go of his new boyfriend, "Let's… Uh, not tell Zayne yet. I'm not sure how he would react. So don't tell him, please."

Max pulled the blonde into another hug, "Hey, don't worry about it. The kid won't know any time soon, I promise."

He let go and opened the bag he had, pushing the flower towards the blonde, "Uh… Here, I thought you would like this."

 

Dominic smiled as he took the flower, "Aw, it's a hydrangea! And it's in your favorite color! Thanks, Max!" He put the flower in his chest pocket and suddenly had a sly look on his face, "Or should I say… Maxie?" Max sighed as Dominic mentioned his old nickname, "Oh, there's the old fucking nickname. Haha, Dom."

The blonde smiled and kissed his cheek, causing Max to blush. The counselor looked down at his watch, "Aw crap, I have to get back to the camp. It's practically an hour's drive there. Here, you can keep the pizza. Can't let any of those little monsters have any, there's not enough for all of them. They'll get pissy."

 

Dominic nodded and took the box, he kissed the man on the cheek again, "I'll see you soon, Maxie."

 

Max blushed as he smiled, walking towards his car, "Yeah… See you soon…"


	5. Flashback!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To celebrate the Camp Camp Season 3 finale, I managed to finish another chapter! It about one of Dominic and Emalie's first adventures when they were kids! Emalie tries to fly and Dominic gets annoyed! Remember, they come in a year after the series!

Dominic woke up to his tent mate hovering over him, she was jumping up and down, "Come on, Dominic! Grab your vest and get ready! David said we have a whole day of fun ahead of us!"

The boy groaned, rubbing his eyes, "Okay, okay, Emalie. I'm going, I'm going." He put on his vest, leaving it unbuttoned as Emalie grabbed a paper airplane, jumping up and down with it. She put her goggles on her eyes, "Hey, Dom, you like the plane I made?"

 

He looked over at the smaller plane, "Uh, yeah, looks… Cool, I guess."

 

She kept smiling, "Though I can't make it fly very far, or very high. It's hard, you think you can do anything about it?"

The blonde took the plane in his hands, "Oh, there's a secret to these, a cheat code if you will." She tilted an eyebrow as he laughed at his own joke. "They take a certain angle and a different head than that to fly far. Here, may I?"

The airplane-lover smiled, allowing him to modify her toy. Dominic walked outside of their tent and threw the paper plane over the lake, the plane had almost made it to the island.

 

Emalie was smiling brightly, "Oh my god, it flew so far, and so high!" She turned to him, "You think you can make me fly, Dominic?!"

 

He was confused, "Wait what? Emalie, I-"

She was not listening as she pulled him to the mess hall, rambling about the fact that he could totally make her fly later as they got their breakfast.

 

 

Dominic sat with Neil, telling him the story, "I don't know why she thinks I can make her fly. You're the science nerd, I'm just a video game lover."

The brunette shrugged, "Maybe she thinks you can give her a 'power up' or something? You are the closest thing she seems to have to a best friend."

Dominic looked over to Emalie, who was chatting with Space Kid, he pondered, "Riiiiiiiight. So what do you suggest we do?"

Neil pointed his fork at him, "Well, I'm not exactly sure how I got involved with this. But I guess I'll help you out. But how?"

Max's voice pierced their conversation as the Quartermaster walked by, "I've got an idea. She likes the Quartermaster, right? Give her to him for the day while you try and figure it out." Nikki nodded in agreement, laughing at the thought of them hanging out.

Dominic nodded, "You know, she does! That works out great, thanks, Max!" Max smiled, "Glad I could help you nerds out."

 

The blonde kept his smile as Emalie walked to the table, "Hey, Em! You know, the Quartermaster might have something that could help you fly. You should hang out with him," Max and Nikki had shoved the girl to the old man as Dominic continued, "While Neil and I figure out how to make you fly!"

 

Quartermaster looked at the girl, "I'm doing what."

 

Emalie smiled, nodding happily, "You got it, bestie! I can totally do that! Come on, QM! Show me the ways of potentially flying!"

 

The Quartermaster let out a sigh as the girl pulled him, he looked at the blonde, "you better know what you're doing, brown vest."

Dominic nodded nervously, feeling threatened by the man's hook. The pair left, allowing Dominic and Neil to go to Science Camp. They began theorizing that they could give her cardboard wings and pretend she was flying. Though most of the time, they were also talking about the video game Nikki broke. She had gotten too excited and thrown it to the ground like a football when she won. Now the two were wondering if they could even fix it, considering the damage.

 

Emalie followed the Quartermaster, being just as talkative as when she first met him, "So what are we going to do? Find an amulet that'll give me the power to fly? Befriend eagles? Oooh, how about a falcon?"

He shoved his hook hand in front of her, forcing her to stop, "Stay here. Don't talk." She smiles, "Oh, okay!" The Quartermaster turned, glaring at her. She covers her mouth with her hands, whispering, "Sorry! Starting nooooooow."

 

He rummaged through the bushes as she rolled on her feet in boredom. She smiled at the forest around her, waiting.

Finally he got up from his spot and put something in her hands. It was a flying squirrel. She smiled at the animal and then at him, "Aw! He's so cute! But, not exactly what I had in mind when I ask if you knew a way I could fl-"

 

All of a sudden, the animal flew, dragging her along with it.

 

The Quartermaster looked up and walked away, grumbling, "Well, hope she has fun."

 

Emalie couldn't believe it, she was flying. She smiled widely, cheering as the animal flew her around.

 

A large shadow crossed Neil and Dominic.

 

Dominic looked up in shock, "OH MY GOD, EMALIE! Come on, Neil!" He ran to the dock with the other boy, both jumped into one of the small row boats. Both paddled as Dominic shouted, "Emalie! Don't worry, we're coming to save you!"

She smiled down at them, "Oh hey, bestie! Hi, Neil!"

Neil shouted, "What the hell are you doing!"

 

"Just having fun with this flying squirrel! The Quartermaster gave him to me-"

 

Before she could finish her sentence, Emalie was dropped by the creature. She waved her arms, struggling not to fall.

"EMALIE!"

Dominic paddled harder, Neil attempted to keep up. The blonde stuck out his arms as the girl landed in their raft, he looked at her, "Emalie! Are you okay?!" His hands were fidgeting at her sides, he couldn't help it.

 

"That… Was… SO FUN!" She practically jumped up from him, she pulled Dominic into a hug, "I'm sorry I spooked you with that fall. But thanks for saving me, bestie!"

He frowned, "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shoved you with Quartermaster, you should have been with me while I tried to figure out a way to get you to fly."

 

"Aw, don't worry, it's fine-"

 

"THAT WAS SO COOL!"

 

The moment they hit land, Space Kid ran to their boat. He beaming at the girl, "Did you see how high you went! You almost broke the atmosphere with that flying squirrel! Can you show me how to do that?" His smile became calm at the question, though he was still bouncing up and down.

 

Neil opened his mouth to argue with the space-loving boy, "Space Kid, she didn't even come close to-"

Dominic shoved his hand to the intelligent boy's mouth, "Shhh, just let them have this."

 

Nikki ran to them as well, "Yeah, that was pretty high. But I have a bird named Timothy who can probably take you even higher AND he won't drop you!"

Emalie smiled at the two, the flying squirrel landed on her shoulder, "I'm sure Bartholomew here just needs some training! Or maybe he can watch me fly the biplane!" She turned to Dominic, "You and Neil can go do something geeky now, I'm going to go hang out with Space Kid and Nikki now!"

The dark-redheaded girl climbed off the boy and ran to the new group on land, now smiling brightly. She looked happy to have some new friends.

 

Dominic smiled at the girl as she dashed off with them, "C'mon, Neil. Let's go reprogram that broken cartridge in the attic."

Neil jumped out of the boat, stretching his limbs, "Finally! I'll invite Max too, he can bring chips or something."

 

The blonde nodding, keeping his smile at the thought of Max being with them.


End file.
